Adobe Encore DVD Tutorial:

Transcription

1 Adobe Encore DVD Tutorial: Here is a simple tutorial for creating DVDs which will play Dolby Digital audio: 1. Plan the DVD project. Think through your DVD project. Decide how many audio tracks you want to include and how you want people to access these tracks. Regardless of the complexity of the project, it is beneficial to work through the flow of your project and determine how the elements link together before you begin creating it. Some DVD authors use flow charts, and some use spreadsheets. Either way, it is valuable to draft possible navigation scenarios so that you can anticipate and resolve problems before you start. Below is an example layout: The main menu leads to two audio tracks; the tracks lead back to the main menu. Track 1 Track 2 2. Prepare your audio. Encode your audio to Dolby Digital using Sonic Foundry SoftEncode. This will allow you to specify your desired metadata parameters. 3. Open Adobe Encore DVD. Open Adobe Encore DVD and create a new project. When prompted to select a television standard, select the standard appropriate for your project. Once open, Adobe Encore DVD displays the toolbox, the Project window, the Properties palette, and the Palette window. Notice that the Project and Palette windows each have tabs that display more information. (If you don't see all these windows and palettes, choose Window > Workspace > Default.) As you begin to create your project, the Project tab lists all the audio, video, and image files (or assets) that you import, as well as the menus and timelines you create. The other tabs in the window provide more detailed information about the project. The Palette window holds several palettes. In this tutorial, you'll use the Library palette to choose a menu template. For now, click through the tabs to get an idea of what they contain.

2 4. Import your files. Go to File>Import as asset and import all the audio files (.ac3 files) that you plan to use in the project. Adobe Encore DVD lists the files in the Project tab. Each file has an icon preceding it that identifies it as an audio asset. Save your project. Note: If you are prompted to choose a transcoding preset, choose Don t transcode. This will ensure that no metadata parameters will be overwritten. (Usually ac3 files are not prompted for this). You will also need to import some image files to be used as dummy video while the audio is playing. Choose File>Import as Timeline and import, one by one, the desired images that will be shown with your project. This will create video timelines with empty audio tracks.

3 5. From the Project palette drag your audio tracks over to the desired timelines. Make sure the video length is the same as the audio length. 5. Choose a menu template. Click the Library palette tab to bring it forward. This palette lists predesigned menu templates, backgrounds, buttons, images, shapes, layer sets, and text. The buttons at the center of the palette control display of the different items. Click the Show Menus button (left-most button) to view only menus. Click through the list to view a preview of each menu in the palette. Select the template you want as your main menu, and click the New Menu button at the bottom of the palette.

4 Adobe Encore DVD creates a new menu based on the template and displays it in the Menu Editor window. (Notice that the Project tab also lists the new menu.) For this tutorial, try the Blue Grid Menu.psd template. The Menu Editor window is your canvas for creating and editing menus. The top selection tool in the toolbox lets you select an entire button set. A button set is the group of elements that make up a button, generally an image and text, as well as a hidden image used to highlight the button when the viewer selects or activates it. The Direct Select tool lets you select individual objects in the menu, including the individual elements of a button. You can move, scale, or delete button sets or objects in a menu by using these tools. You can also use the text tools to add either horizontal or vertical text, as well as edit and reformat existing text. 6. Customize the menu. Delete or duplicate buttons as desired by using the Selection tool and the commands in the Edit menu. Next, use the Horizontal Text tool to select and retype the button labels for your project. Modify other text on the menu as needed. If you want, you can also use the Edit > Rename command to rename the buttons in the Layers palette to match the new text.

5 7. Link the timelines to their buttons. Arrange the windows so that you can see the Project tab, the Menu Editor window, and the Properties palette. You are now ready to begin linking each timeline to its button. Right click on a timeline in the Project Tab, and rename it appropriately. Now drag your timelines over to their associated buttons. The timelines are now linked to the buttons.

6 8. Click a timeline in the Project tab. In the Properties palette, the End Action field contains the name of the menu to which you linked the video. The End Action controls what displays when the video is over. Adobe Encore DVD automatically sends a video back to the source menu. In a more complex project, you might want another video to play once this one ends or you might want a different menu to appear. Use the pick whip to change this field by dragging directly to a different timeline or menu in the Project tab. Right Click on your main menu button. Select Set as first play. 9. Preview your DVD. Once you've created some links, preview a simulation of your DVD by clicking the Preview tool in the tool bar (the bottommost tool). Use the mouse or simulated remote control buttons to test the links and videos. Then walk through the entire DVD to make sure that each button leads to the correct link and that each timeline moves onto the correct menu or timeline. If you find any links that lead to the wrong destination, select the button or timeline in the Project tab, open the Properties palette, and set the link to the appropriate location. When you've finished previewing, close the Preview window.

7 10. Build your DVD. Click the Disc tab in the Project window, and name your DVD. (This name will appear in Microsoft Windows Explorer if you view the DVD on a PC.) From the pop-up menu below the name, choose the size of media you are using. Notice that the Disc tab lists the size of the DVD project and the space available on the media you've selected. Insert a blank DVD into the appropriate drive, and then click Build Project. (If you prefer to build this first DVD to a folder rather than to a disc, use the Build command in the File menu instead.) When prompted, save the project. (If you are warned about errors in the project, click Check Project on the Disc tab and correct them.) In the Make DVD Disc dialog box, make sure that the correct DVD recorder appears. Click Next. In the Summary window, note your build parameters and click Build to begin the build process. When the Progress panel indicates that the build is complete, your DVD is ready!

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